Who Bee Buzzing?

Question: Which men's designer is currently, and has received the most buzz over the past year?
Answer: Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy.

Let's examine this a bit.

It has not hurt that Tisci has been the fortunate beneficiary of a priceless PR campaign that any marketing director could only dream of: Kanye West and Jay-Z have been touring for their "Watch the Throne" album in highly visible Givenchy outfits. Some of the album cover art was also designed by Tisci.

Many pop, rock and rap stars, especially the female divas, have their stage costumes custom-designed by well-known designers. But what makes this situation unique is that these two princes of hip hop are wearing pret-a-porter pieces that can be purchased by the likes of you and me, for the right price, of course.

I was browsing e-bay the other day and the Givenchy buzz generated by the tour was quite evident.  The rottweiler (shown above) and bird of paradise motifs (shown below) are so immensely popular that people are apparently willing to pay ridiculously large amounts of money for them.  I saw a bird of paradise t-shirt being offered for a cool $1,200.

Runway model showing birds of paradise motif

Kanye with Riccardo Tisci

And what about the collections themselves?

Here are links to the Fall/Winter 2012 and Spring/Summer 2012 collections, or you can also take a look at some of the pics below.

Spring/Summer 2012

Fall/Winter 2012

All images copyrighted to GQ.com

As for my own thoughts, my first impression was that the acclaim of the label seemed to rest on the success of mere graphic designs, whereas a designer label such as Givenchy should instead make its mark by showcasing things like interesting cuts and fabrics. However, upon reflection, I reconsidered my bias. Perhaps Tisci's novelty is precisely in his use of interesting and unique graphic designs?

Furthermore, Tisci's cuts, tailoring and fabrics are far from conventional. While it's hard to see to whom his man-skirts will appeal--rock and rap stars, excepted of course-- it's undeniable that Tisci has successfully created his own little fashion universe that is probably worthy of the buzz he's received.


-The Scandal